Chapter 338: The Kid with Dark Circles

Chapter 338: Chapter 338: The Kid with Dark Circles

Led by a Sunagakure patrol squad, Hyuga Kagami and Shisui entered the village through a concealed side entrance.

As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Sunagakure was naturally quite large. It was situated within a long, narrow valley, surrounded on all sides by towering rock walls that resembled natural fortifications, shielding the entire village within.

Scattered throughout the valley occupied by Sunagakure, as well as the surrounding region, were oases of various sizes. These ensured a sufficient supply of water and were the reason Sunagakure could survive in the middle of the desert.

As Kagami walked through the village, his first impression was one of desolation.

Although Sunagakure’s geographical location was already considered one of the best in the Land of Wind, compared to the other Great Shinobi Villages, it was still far too remote and impoverished.

The main reason was that the natural environment of the Land of Wind was simply too harsh. Although its territory was vast, nearly all habitable regions were concentrated around a limited number of oases. As a result, whether in terms of population or national strength, the Land of Wind ranked at the bottom among the Five Great Nations.

This also meant that the Daimyo of the Land of Wind could provide only limited support to Sunagakure.

Consequently, Sunagakure’s overall strength also ranked last among the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Even Kirigakure, which had endured decades of turmoil and had recently suffered a massive rebellion involving its Kekkei Genkai clans, likely possessed deeper foundations than Sunagakure.

In fact, some clues could already be seen simply from the distribution of the Tailed Beasts.

Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure each possessed two Tailed Beasts, while Konoha, Sunagakure, and Takigakure each possessed one.

However, Konoha possessed the strongest of them all, the Nine-Tails. So despite having only a single Tailed Beast, Konoha was by no means inferior to Kumogakure, Iwagakure, or Kirigakure in that regard.

Sunagakure, on the other hand, possessed only one Tailed Beast—and it was the weakest of them all, the One-Tail. In this respect, Sunagakure was actually worse off than even Takigakure.

After the captain of the Sunagakure patrol escorted them to the village’s guesthouse, Hyuga Kagami immediately requested an audience with the Fourth Kazekage.

The Sunagakure patrol captain agreed to relay his request, then departed with his squad.

Once the Sunagakure shinobi had left, Shisui remarked, "Sunagakure seems to be in pretty bad shape!"

Kagami nodded. "I heard the Daimyo of the Land of Wind recently cut Sunagakure’s funding again."

Shisui was puzzled. "Why?"

Anyone with eyes could see that Sunagakure was already in a weakened state. For the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to reduce his support for the village at a time like this was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

And once Sunagakure’s strength declined beyond recovery, the Land of Wind would inevitably become a lamb waiting for slaughter.

Kagami explained, "Because Sunagakure is allied with Konoha. In the short term, no other shinobi village would dare make a move against them. Without any external pressure, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind naturally wants to save wherever he can."

Shisui frowned. "Isn’t that a little too shortsighted?"

"It certainly is." After a brief pause, Kagami continued, "But it also tells us that the Land of Wind really is broke."

The only reason Sunagakure could still maintain its position as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages was because the Fourth Kazekage used his Magnet Release to extract gold from the desert, supplementing the village’s finances.

Kagami had tried this money-making method himself, but it had ended in failure.

Even with the same Kekkei Genkai, differences between users meant that the nature of their chakra would also differ to some extent. And when those differences manifested through a Kekkei Genkai, they could produce entirely different results.

For example, Uchiha Sasuke’s Blaze Release manifested as black flames, while the Blaze Release of Kagami’s Fire Release clone manifested as golden flames.

The nature of the Third Kazekage’s chakra happened to correspond with iron, so his Magnet Release primarily manipulated Iron Sand. The Fourth Kazekage’s chakra nature, on the other hand, happened to correspond with gold. As a result, his Magnet Release could not only be used in battle, but also to make money.

It was practically the most profitable Kekkei Genkai in the entire shinobi world.

Meanwhile, inside the Kazekage Building.

The captain of the Sunagakure patrol quickly reported Konoha’s request for an audience to the Fourth Kazekage.

However, the Fourth Kazekage seemed preoccupied with something. After hearing the report, he merely waved his hand absentmindedly, as though he hadn’t taken the matter to heart at all.

Seeing this, the Sunagakure patrol captain could only helplessly withdraw from the Kazekage’s office.

A short while later, Sunagakure’s elder Chiyo arrived at the office. Staring at the Fourth Kazekage, she asked, "You’ve made your decision?"

The Fourth Kazekage nodded.

"A decision has to be made. Tonight. If he can pass the test, then he can live. Otherwise... I’ll have no choice but to eliminate him as a threat."

Chiyo let out a soft sigh before asking, "Who’s going to do it?"

The Fourth Kazekage coldly uttered a name.

"Yashamaru!"

Chiyo was somewhat surprised. "What? You’re sending Yashamaru? He’s Karura’s younger brother. That’s far too risky!"

"Risky..." The Fourth Kazekage’s expression darkened. After a moment, he continued, "But only this way can I test his capacity and determine whether he’s a Jinchūriki who will protect the village... or a monster who threatens it. I have no other choice..."

In the blink of an eye, night fell.

At Sunagakure’s guesthouse, Kagami and Shisui were still waiting to be summoned by the Fourth Kazekage. Yet even as the sky gradually darkened, there was still no response from Sunagakure.

Taking a sip of tea, Shisui asked, "Senpai, do you think the Kazekage might just happen to be away from the village?"

Leaning casually off to the side, Kagami shook his head. "Maybe."

Strictly speaking, Kagami and Shisui had come to Sunagakure as representatives of Konoha and the Hokage. If the Kazekage were in the village, he should have received them immediately.

Just then, Kagami’s brows suddenly furrowed as he looked through the window toward somewhere nearby.

A few moments later, Shisui sensed it as well and abruptly rose from his chair.

"Senpai, I can sense an incredibly massive and violent chakra!"

Kagami replied, "Yeah, I can feel it too. And it seems to be heading straight toward us."

Meanwhile, inside the Kazekage’s office.

Whoosh...

Amid the sound of rushing wind, a Sunagakure ANBU appeared inside the Kazekage’s office. Dropping to one knee, he reported to the Fourth Kazekage, "Lord Kazekage, Yashamaru is dead!"

The Fourth Kazekage didn’t turn around. His gaze remained fixed on the view outside the window.

Through his Sand Eye, the Fourth Kazekage had already witnessed Yashamaru’s death from beginning to end.

He even knew that the monster was now heading toward the guesthouse.

And so, he asked the ANBU, "There’s no one staying at the guesthouse, right?"

The ANBU hurriedly replied, "Two envoys from Konoha checked into the guesthouse today."

The Fourth Kazekage immediately recalled the patrol captain’s earlier report, and his brows knitted together.

"Quick! Tell the Konoha envoys to evacuate!"

Back at the guesthouse.

In the main hall, Kagami finally came face-to-face with the source of that violent chakra.

It was a six-year-old child with red hair, a conspicuous character for love etched onto his forehead...

and two dark circles beneath his eyes.